Knight Terrors
by Rainack
Summary: Sequal to Knight In Mourning. While on the way back to the FLAG mansion after a mission, KITT and Carlee are kidnapped. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

As usual, I do not own Knight Rider. That privilege belongs to Glen A. Larson. I only own Carlee, Michaela, Dr. Stalov, and the idea for this story.

Knight Terrors

Chapter 1

"K.I.T.T.?" Carlee slurred as she swam up out of unconsciousness. It took her a moment to piece together what had happened.

They'd been driving along the deserted dessert road, minding their own business, when a power pole had toppled on them. The live wire had draped across the shiny, black T-top, sending electrical current through the powerful TransAm.

Carlee had lost control, and they'd spun around several times. Her head must have come into contact with the driver side window, knocking her out. Any other time, the Passive Laser Restraint would have kept her from contacting the window, so the electricity must have knocked K.I.T.T. off-line.

Looking around, Carlee took stock of the situation. They had spun clear of the fallen wire and pole, as she could see it several yards away through the windshield. The wire was popping and jumping on the road.

"K.I.T.T.?" Carlee tried again, this time thumping her fist against the dashboard. "Come on, buddy!" concern began to creep into her voice.

She tried turning the key in the ignition to see if the car would at least start. No such luck!

Carlee popped the hood and got out of the car. A hot dessert wind blew grit and her dark shoulder length hair into her face. She impatiently brushed the loose strands out of her face, then raised K.I.T.T.'s hood.

She was in the process of looking everything over when she felt a sharp pain in the side of her neck.

Carlee whipped around, but it was already too late. The ground came up to meet her in a rush as she lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bonnie poked her head into Devon's office.

Devon, his gray hair in disarray from a recent round of horsey, sat at his desk reviewing paperwork. Four year old Michaela sat at a child size table coloring.

"Devon, can I talk to you for a minute?" Bonnie asked, motioning to the hallway with a twitch of her head.

Michaela glanced up from her picture and smiled at Bonnie. "Hi, Aunt Bonnie! Wanna see my picture?"

"In a minute, sweetie. I need to talk to Uncle Devon for a minute," Bonnie responded, smiling warmly back at the child sized female version of Michael Knight.

Bonnie couldn't conceal the concern on her face, as Devon came into the hall.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Devon asked immediately.

"K.I.T.T. and Carlee are nearly three hours overdue, and I can't get K.I.T.T. on the line."

Devon thought back to the days when Michael drove K.I.T.T. for the Foundation. Back then, this was a regular occurrence and no cause for concern. Carlee, on the other hand, maintained regular contact, and was always punctual.

"What about K.I.T.T.'s homing beacon?" Devon inquired.

"It's not transmitting. That's another reason I'm worried," Bonnie replied, beginning to pace. She'd been opposed to the idea of K.I.T.T. and Carlee continuing Michael's work for the Foundation, not wanting to possibly have to grieve for another friend lost. She hadn't been able to deny the logic of K.I.T.T.'s argument, though. K.I.T.T. had specifically been programmed for this work, and Carlee seemed to have been programmed for it, as well, in her own way.

"Take the semi and go search their last known location," Devon instructed. "I'll stay here, with Michaela, and let you know if they come in."

Bonnie nodded, spun on her heel and headed out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Carlee slowly emerged from drugged unconsciousness. Her head swam from the after effects of whatever she'd been given and what she suspected was at least a mild concussion.

She discovered she was tied to a chair when she tried to bring her right hand up to her face. Fighting off a surge of panic, she opened her eyes. She found herself in a pitch black room. It was so dark, and imagined spots of color danced in her vision. She closed her eyes again.

Trying to move her feet, she discovered that they were also bound to the chair on which she sat. Panic surged again at the realization that she was helpless.

* * *

K.I.T.T.'s red scanner came on with a whoosh, as his system finally recovered from the surge of electricity.

Bonnie's surge protection program was only supposed to knock him off-line for a matter of minutes, but his system's clock told him it had been nearly three hours that he'd been down. He would have to talk to Bonnie about that.

In that instant, K.I.T.T. realized that he was not where he should have been. He should have come back on-line on the dessert road where the wire had fallen, with Carlee sitting impatiently waiting for him to reboot. Carlee's comforting presence was missing, and he wasn't even on a road.

He was enclosed in some sort of garage. What was worse, he was suspended several feet in the air.

His scanners picked up readings from several computers as well as the usual mechanic's tools one would find in a garage.

He wasn't worried about himself. After all, his molecular bonded shell would keep even the most determined of thieves out of him. Even the computers could do nothing to him without being directly plugged into him.

Carlee was his main concern right now. She was his driver, as well as his partner, and best friend. He had already lost one partner, he would NOT lose another.

"Carlee?" K.I.T.T. opened a channel to Carlee's comlink, hoping she still had it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Carlee?" K.I.T.T.'s voice queried from her left wrist.

Carlee's eyes snapped open, and she heaved a sigh of relief. K.I.T.T. was okay, and it seemed her kidnappers didn't know about K.I.T.T.'s abilities, or the comlink.

Carlee struggled against her bonds to get to the button on her comlink that would allow her to transmit back. It was no use though, her hands were well secured to the arms of the chair.

"Carlee? I'm in a garage of some kind. They put me on a lift, so they must know about me," K.I.T.T.'s voice had risen slightly, edging toward panic. Carlee suspected the panic was a result of her failure to reply that she was okay.

Carlee squeezed her eyes shut. She longed to be able to communicate with K.I.T.T., reassure him that they'd be okay.

Instead, she started shouting, "Hey! Hey!" If K.I.T.T. weren't too far away, he'd pick up her shouts easily and talk to her through the comlink. If not, then someone else might come and she might be able to get an idea of what was going on.

The door opened and Carlee closed her eyes against the sudden glare. Overhead lights added to her momentary torment.

As her blue eyes readjusted to light, Carlee dared to look around. The small room was barren save for one more chair, which became occupied by the man who had opened the door.

"Who are you?" Carlee demanded, glaring at the man sitting casually across from her. He was in his late forties. His thinning, graying hair might once have been thick and black. Deep creases lined his face. On any other man's face, they may have been distinguished. On this man, they made him look weathered and worn.

The man snorted, as if she'd said something funny.

"They didn't tell you about me," it was a statement, not a question. Under his breath, the man muttered, "I should have known they wouldn't even bother to tell you."

"Tell me what?" Carlee asked, an edge in her voice.

"That I'd been trying to acquire the Two Thousand!"

Carlee's head snapped up, her eyes widening. "What do you mean, acquire?"

"I'm Dr. Gill Stalov. I specialize in advanced artificial intelligence."

A chill raced down Carlee's spine, and her arms broke out in gooseflesh. "What do you want with me?" Carlee asked, dreading she already knew the answer.

"You are the only way I can gain access into the Two Thousand."

"I won't help you!" Carlee snarled.

"Don't worry, you won't have to _do_ anything," was the even response. "This would have been much easier on everyone involved if Knight Industries had just let me run my tests. Instead they kept giving me the run around. Telling me they no longer owned the Two Thousand. Imagine, a machine owning itself!" An angry glint lit up Dr. Stalov's green eyes. "It may be intelligent, but it's still a machine! Machines have no property rights!" Seeming to realize he was beginning to ramble, Dr. Stalov closed his mouth with a click.

"You're insane!" Carlee snapped at him.

Dr. Stalov ignored her, instead, rising to his feet and walking out of the room. He didn't bother to turn the lights back off.

The door was opened again a few minutes later. Two powerfully built men walked in. They picked up the chair Carlee was strapped to and maneuvered it out the door and down two hallways, then through another door.

She quickly dubbed them Thing One and Thing Two. They were both roughly the same height and build. Their biceps, triceps, and every other 'ceps, for that matter, bulged. In a word, they were huge!

_The bigger they are, the harder they fall,_ Carlee thought to herself.

Carlee found herself in the garage where K.I.T.T. was suspended on a mechanical car lift. His tires dangled helplessly in the air.

Thing One and Thing Two deposited Carlee's chair in front of K.I.T.T., and walked out of the garage.

"K.I.T.T.?" Carlee said, rushing on before K.I.T.T. could respond. "Whatever happens, do _not_ open your door."

"What's happening, Carlee?" K.I.T.T. asked, his scanner whooshing to life. It raced back and forth, an indication to Carlee that he was highly agitated.

"They're after you. A Dr. Gill Stalov wants to run 'tests' on you. No matter what, do _not_ open your door!"

"Carlee, my programming will not allow me to knowingly let them hurt you," K.I.T.T.'s agitation was apparent in his voice.

"Programming be damned! I'm ordering you! Do _not_ open your door to anyone!"

"I hate to point this out to you, Carlee, but we are equals, you cannot 'order' me to do anything," K.I.T.T. replied softly. A moment later, "Someone's coming!"

Dr. Stalov walked in, a small case in his hands.

Carlee glared at him, wishing looks could actually cause harm.

Dr. Stalov set the case on a nearby workbench and opened it. He pulled out a syringe containing a clear liquid. He held it up, so K.I.T.T.'s scanners would register it. "Pain by nerve induction."

"How considerate of you to use a method that won't leave any physical trace," Carlee spat at the man.

"You can end this before it begins, K.I.T.T. Just open the door!"

"Don't do it, K.I.T.T.!" Carlee said, as she struggled against her bonds.

Dr. Stalov turned away from K.I.T.T. He pushed the needle into Carlee's forearm and depressed the plunger of the syringe ever so slightly.

The effect was nearly instantaneous. The area around the injection sight began to tingle. It began to spread through her body, the tingle deepening into mild burning.

"Is that the best you've got!" Carlee gritted out between clenched teeth.

"Oh, don't worry, a little more and you'll be screaming!" Dr. Stalov assured her.

K.I.T.T. had been scanning Carlee's vitals, so he registered the spike in her heart rate and blood pressure when the first small amount of serum had entered her system.

Dr. Stalov injected more of the serum, and a cold sweat broke out on Carlee's face as the pain intensified. Tears began to course down her cheeks, but still she didn't cry out.

"Don't... listen... to... him... K.I.T.T.!" Carlee panted out, as she concentrated on her breathing to control the pain.

A look of astonishment crossed the doctor's face.

"Natural. Childbirth. You. Should. Try. It. Some. Time," Carlee replied, correctly interpreting the look on Dr. Stalov's face. Then she grinned at him, bent on making him as angry as she was.

K.I.T.T. was beginning to worry about Carlee, though. Her vitals were through the roof, and he knew she had to be in intense pain. Over half of the serum was still in the syringe and K.I.T.T. worried what might happen if all of it were injected at once, in a fit of anger.

Dr. Stalov, managing to maintain his calm, injected more of the serum.

Carlee's high, piercing scream echoed back from the garage walls.

A smirk of satisfaction on his face, Dr. Stalov crowed, "I told you you would scream." The smirk was replaced with grim determination. "Now, beg K.I.T.T. to make it stop!" Dr. Stalov went back to the case on the workbench and withdrew another syringe. This one contained an amber fluid.

Holding it up for K.I.T.T.'s scanners to detect, he said, "This is the antidote for the nerve induction agent. Open your door, and I will administer it to Carlee."

Carlee's scream had subsided to a whimper. Her voice barely more than a whisper, she managed to gasp, "Don't... do... it... K.I.T.T.!"

Dr. Stalov moved back to Carlee's side, and he injected her with more serum.

Carlee's scream was punctuated by a low keening sound from K.I.T.T. "I'm sorry, Carlee! I can't let him inject you with any more of that serum!" K.I.T.T.'s driver side door opened.

Leaving the first syringe in her arm, Dr. Stalov injected the contents of the second syringe into Carlee's other arm.

Carlee's eyes rolled up in her head, and she passed out. Her head lolled forward onto her chest. K.I.T.T.'s vital signs scanner registered Carlee's vitals returning to normal, though.

"The nerve induction syringe is still in her arm. If you close your door, I will inject double the previous amount into her," Dr. Stalov told K.I.T.T., moving toward the open door. "Now, let's get started!" Dr. Stalov's voice was filled with glee.

K.I.T.T. didn't bother to reply.

Dr. Stalov reached through K.I.T.T.'s open door and pulled the hood release.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

K.I.T.T.'s scream brought Carlee back to consciousness.

She was still tied to the chair, which still sat in front of K.I.T.T.

K.I.T.T.'s hood was open, and several cables snaked into his engine bay. Carlee followed the cables with her eyes, and saw that they lead to the computers.

Carlee didn't profess to know much about computers, so she had no idea what Dr. Stalov was doing to K.I.T.T., but she guessed it was nothing good.

K.I.T.T. screamed again, and the sound tore at Carlee's heart.

Carlee couldn't help it. The next time K.I.T.T. screamed, her voice joined his. Hers rose from a scream of torment to one of pure rage.

"Stop! Leave him alone!" Carlee screamed at Dr. Stalov, as K.I.T.T. screamed again. "You'll pay for this! I swear, you _will_ pay!"

Dr. Stalov picked up a nearby phone and spoke into it, "Come get her out of here. She's distracting me."

Thing One and Thing Two came back in. Thing One pulled out a knife and cut the rope holding Carlee to the chair. Thing Two roughly grabbed her and pulled her to her feet. Her hands and feet tingled with returning sensation.

They each took hold of one of her arms and dragged her from the garage. Carlee twisted and struggled, even managing to step on the toes of Thing One, on her right, but it was no use. They were too strong for her.

Thing One and Thing Two marched her back down the hallways they had carried her through earlier. They stopped in front of a different door, though. Thing One let go of her right arm to fish out a set of keys and open the door.

Carlee took her chance. She grabbed the front of Thing Two's pants and squeezed. He instinctively released her left arm to protect himself.

Still holding him, she pulled. He reacted to the pressure by following where she lead. She swung him around into Thing One and pushed. Thing One and Thing Two fell in a tangle of arms and legs.

Carlee heard a sickening thud as the head of Thing One contacted with the floor. He was out cold.

Thing Two rolled off Thing One, and Carlee kicked at his face with all her might. His nose broke with a crunch, and blood spurted everywhere. He grabbed his nose, in too much pain to do anything else.

The door of the room stood open, the keys still in the lock. Carlee patted down Thing Two, finding a gun in a shoulder holster. She took the gun, then patted down Thing One. She motioned with the gun for Thing Two to drag Thing One into the room. She closed and locked the door, then headed back to the garage, the gun held at ready in front of her.

Dr. Stalov was oblivious to her presence, too absorbed in what he was doing.

Carlee pressed the cold barrel of the gun to the base of the doctor's skull. "If you so much as twitch a finger, I'll blow your head off!" she snarled.

She watched the computer screen over the doctor's shoulder for a moment. Lines of code swept past, too fast to read.

"Whatever you're doing, stop!" Carlee commanded.

"The test must finish, or you'll risk damaging the A.I."

"Oh, I think you've already got that one covered!" Carlee snapped.

Dr. Stalov tapped a key and the computer beeped.

"There, it's stopped," Dr. Stalov said, resting his hands to either side of the keyboard.

Carlee pulled the gun away and pistol whipped the doctor on the temple. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Only then did the silence in the room register. K.I.T.T. hadn't been screaming when she came in.

"K.I.T.T.?" Carlee asked, shoving the gun into her waistband so she could deal with the cables still trailing out of K.I.T.T.'s hood.

K.I.T.T. didn't respond. "I don't know if you can hear me, K.I.T.T., but we're getting out of here. It'll be okay!"

Carlee yanked the cables free and slammed the hood. Now she had to deal with the lift. She looked around and found the controls along the wall.

The lift lowered to the ground and Carlee opened the driver's side door.

She felt it the moment she was inside. The whole frame of the car was trembling. Carlee noticed that the red bars of K.I.T.T.'s voice modulator were in constant motion, but K.I.T.T. didn't seem to have a voice. She pushed the mute button, and the cabin was filled with K.I.T.T.'s scream.

"K.I.T.T.!" Carlee tried to make herself heard above K.I.T.T.'s terror. She had to fight the urge to either cover her ears or mute K.I.T.T. again. Instead, she started the engine and yelled, "We're getting out of here, K.I.T.T.! Hang on!"

Carlee shifted the car into reverse and floored the accelerator. The metal garage door disintegrated on impact, pieces flying in every direction. The powerful Trans Am was in no way hindered by the contact with the door.

K.I.T.T. was still screaming, an endless wail.

Tears streamed down Carlee's face at the sorrow and terror that were present in the scream.

Once they were clear of the garage door, Carlee turned the wheel, causing them to fishtail ninety degrees to face the street. She slammed the transmission into drive and floored the accelerator, eager to put as much distance as possible between them and the horror that had befallen them in the building they were leaving in their dust.

"Okay, K.I.T.T. I'm going to call Devon and Bonnie. Bonnie will know what to do!"

Carlee reached up and tapped a few buttons on the overhead controls.

In a moment, Devon's worry filled face was on the number one dash monitor.

"Carlee! Where have you been? We've been worried..." Devon stopped what he'd been about to say. "My God, what is that sound? Are you and K.I.T.T. all right?"

"Devon, that's K.I.T.T. He's screaming, and I can't get him to stop. Where's Bonnie? K.I.T.T. needs her!"

"What?" Devon's eyes widened in shock. "Bonnie's with the semi. She's been looking for you since yesterday afternoon. Turn the homing beacon back on and she'll go to you."

"Got it! Call her and tell her to hurry! K.I.T.T.'s in bad shape. He's not hearing me," Carlee's eyes were full of fear for her friend.

Devon cut off the transmission, and Carlee enabled K.I.T.T.'s homing beacon.

Carlee drove aimlessly for at least an hour. Afraid to stop, but knowing she needed to find a place to stop to make it easier for the semi to reach them.

K.I.T.T. seemed to finally realize that something had changed, as his screams had subsided to a keen.

Carlee finally pulled them into the back half of a busy department store parking lot.

Not knowing what else to do, Carlee began singing Michaela's favorite lullaby. One that K.I.T.T. had always enjoyed as well.

As she began singing the song a second time, Carlee heard a very soft, "Carlee?"

"K.I.T.T.?" Carlee breathed, overjoyed to hear her friend's voice again.

The keening had stopped, but K.I.T.T.'s voice was very small and terrified when he continued, "Please, don't stop singing?"

"Okay," Carlee said, then started singing again.

A few minutes later, the semi pulled past them. The back door of the trailer lowered, and Carlee drove K.I.T.T. up into the familiar, comforting confines of the truck.

Bonnie was standing in the front office area of the trailer. Carlee motioned for her to get in, not wanting to leave K.I.T.T.

"What happened? Where have you been? We've been worried sick!" Bonnie fired off in quick succession.

"Dr. Gill Stalov," Carlee said by way of explanation. She carefully studied Bonnie's face for her reaction to the name.

Bonnie flinched and cursed. "Oh, God! K.I.T.T.! I'm so sorry!"

"Bonnie?" K.I.T.T.'s voice was still small and fragile. "Why did he want to hurt me?" K.I.T.T.'s frame was trembling again.

Bonnie looked over at Carlee, her eyes widening. Her mouth moved, trying to form words, but for once, Bonnie Barstow was at a loss for words.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Why didn't you tell me this doctor had been wanting to get his hands on K.I.T.T.?" Carlee demanded of Devon. It came out a hiss. She would have been yelling, ranting, and raving, if it weren't for the sleeping child on her lap and the frightened A.I. parked a few feet away in the mansion garage.

Carlee sat on a leather sofa in the office area she maintained in the garage so she could be close to K.I.T.T.

Devon stood a few feet away, his hands clenched in front of him.

"We thought he'd give up, once he knew K.I.T.T. wasn't Knight Industries' property to hand over," Devon explained.

"Well, that obviously didn't stop him!" Carlee snarled.

"I know! I'm sorry! I should have told you," Devon admitted.

"Carlee? Are you there?" K.I.T.T. asked, needing reassurance. He had not let Carlee out of his scanner range since they'd gotten back, and he was constantly asking if she was there.

"Yes, K.I.T.T., I'm here," Carlee replied patiently.

It had been two days since those terrible events. Two long and heart wrenching days.

Bonnie hadn't even attempted to hook K.I.T.T. up to the computers, afraid he'd panic. Whenever she or Carlee had tried to ask him about what had happened, K.I.T.T. would begin keening.

"That man is still out there, Devon! What's to keep him from trying this again?"

By the time the authorities had arrived at the garage, Dr. Stalov had fled. He'd even taken Thing One and Thing Two with him.

"His passport has been flagged. We'll know if he tries to leave the country. We'll catch him," the admonition felt weak even to his own ears. Devon looked helplessly at K.I.T.T. Turning back to Carlee he said, "Here, let me take her in to bed."

Carlee allowed Devon to lift the little girl in his arms and take her in. She stood and stretched, feeling tight muscles loosen every so slightly, but not nearly enough. Carlee moved to K.I.T.T.'s driver side door. Sensing her approach, K.I.T.T. opened the door for her.

K.I.T.T. sighed as Carlee sank into the driver's seat.

When they'd gotten back to the F.L.A.G. mansion and into the garage, K.I.T.T. very nearly hadn't let Carlee out. Carlee'd had to list the many things a person needed to do that just couldn't be done in the cabin of a car. K.I.T.T. had reluctantly relented.

"Bonnie's planning to hook you up to the computers tomorrow. Do you think you're up to it?" Carlee wanted to let K.I.T.T. know what was going on, so he wouldn't panic. She wasn't sure the knowledge would stop him from panicking, but she thought it only fair that he know.

"I... I don't know. I'll try," K.I.T.T. replied, his voice trembling. Carlee knew he was still very much afraid.

"I'll stay with you, the whole time. Nobody else will be here, just Bonnie and me. You trust me, right pal?"

"I've always trusted you, Carlee." K.I.T.T.'s reply was sure.

"And you trust Bonnie?" Carlee continued.

"Of course!" K.I.T.T. attested.

Carlee tried to smother a large yawn. "K.I.T.T., I've got to go in and get some sleep. I'll leave the comlink on, so you can reach me, and I'll still be in scanner range."

"Okay," K.I.T.T. said uncertainly.

"You're safe here, K.I.T.T.!" Carlee said, stroking the dash board comfortingly.

* * *

Carlee's first stop was Michaela's room, across the hall from her own suite of rooms. She picked Teddy up from where he had fallen to the floor from the bed. Tucking Teddy back under the covers with Michaela, Carlee kissed Michaela and went to her own rooms.

She looked around the living room. Glancing at the photos on the walls, Carlee stifled a sob. Her hand going to her mouth.

"Oh, Michael!" she said to one of the photos. "I almost lost him!" Then, thinking, _Too hell with it!_ She let the sobs come. She hadn't cried like this since Michaela was born.

After finally regaining control of herself, Carlee had stumbled into the bedroom. She crawled into bed, fully clothed, and felt sleep claim her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Carlee opened one eye, then the other. She ran her tongue over her teeth, and smacked her lips. _Should've at least brushed my teeth last night,_ she thought to herself.

She had slept the sleep of the bone tired. K.I.T.T. seemed to have made it through the night without her presence, as he hadn't contacted her through the comlink.

After getting Michaela up and getting both of them some breakfast, Carlee took Michaela to Devon's office, then went back out to the garage.

Bonnie was already there, sitting at one of her computers in her work area. She had on her usual white mechanic's overalls. Her long, dark hair hung in waves around her face, which held a look of deep concentration. She looked up, though, when Carlee walked over.

"Did you sleep last night?" Carlee asked, noting the dark circles under Bonnie's eyes.

"It's overrated," Bonnie replied, stifling a yawn. "I've been researching Dr. Stalov's work. Trying to figure out what he could have done to K.I.T.T."

"And?" Carlee prompted. Bonnie glared at Carlee's nearly chipper response.

"I didn't find anything conclusive, but I have a couple of theories." Bonnie didn't elaborate any further, though. She stood and stretched, then walked over to K.I.T.T. "Pop the hood, please, K.I.T.T."

K.I.T.T. did as she asked. Bonnie then gathered up several cables that had been coiled on the floor a few feet away.

K.I.T.T.'s reaction, when Bonnie stepped toward him with the cables, was instantaneous. His engine roared to life, and his tires left black marks on the garage floor as he reversed through the closed garage door, which disintegrated on impact.

Carlee lunged after him, only to find he'd come to a halt several feet outside the ruined garage door.

"K.I.T.T.!" Carlee could see he was trembling again. "Easy!" she said, slowly approaching him. She trailed her hand over his glossy black fender, and up the windshield. "Easy!" she repeated.

Her hand dropped to the door handle, and she opened the door. She slid behind the wheel.

"K.I.T.T., who do you trust?" Carlee asked.

"You... and Bonnie," K.I.T.T. said after a slight pause.

"That's Bonnie in the garage, K.I.T.T. She wants to help you!" Carlee touched the steering wheel, caressing it comfortingly.

"The cables," K.I.T.T. shuddered.

"Don't think about the cables. Think about Bonnie and me!"

Another shudder, then K.I.T.T. shifted into drive and pulled back through the ruined door.

Bonnie stood where they had last seen her, still holding the cables.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie," K.I.T.T. said a little sheepishly.

"It's okay, K.I.T.T. I think I understand," Bonnie said, as she reached into K.I.T.T.'s exposed engine bay and attached the cables.

Carlee decided she would stay put in K.I.T.T.'s cabin, just in case he panicked again.

Bonnie returned to her computers and began running diagnostic tests on K.I.T.T.'s systems. "Just diagnostics, K.I.T.T. Things we've done thousands of times," Bonnie reassured him.

When the diagnostics were complete, Bonnie said, "Well whatever he did, there's no damage to any of your systems. Now, I'm going to take a look around and see if I can find out what he _did_ do to you."

Bonnie began tapping keys.

Nearly two hours later, Bonnie finally found what she was looking for. "Oh, my God!"

Carlee jumped out of K.I.T.T. and ran to Bonnie's side. "What?"

"That monster!"

"What? What did he do to K.I.T.T.?"

"Those tests... He was trying to see if he could make K.I.T.T. override his base line programming."

"You mean..."

"Yes, the preservation of human life."

"And?"

"I don't think he succeeded," Bonnie sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"You don't 'think' he succeeded?" Carlee looked at Bonnie, astonished. Bonnie _always_ had the answers. "I have to know I can trust my partner!"

Belatedly, both women realized K.I.T.T. had heard their entire conversation, as he began screaming, "Deactivate me!" over and over again.

Carlee began a litany of "No... No... I'm sorry! I'm so stupid! Never should have said that! K.I.T.T.! Please!" She ran to his side, but he refused to open the door for her.

Bonnie ran to K.I.T.T.'s other side, but he wouldn't let her in, either.

Bonnie and Carlee looked helplessly at each other across K.I.T.T.'s T-top.

"K.I.T.T., please listen to me!" Carlee begged.

The screaming finally subsided, and Carlee breathed a sigh. K.I.T.T. still wouldn't open his doors, though.

"You're right, Carlee. I can no longer be trusted. Please, deactivate me!" the anguish in his voice tore at Carlee and Bonnie.

"K.I.T.T., what is your primary function?" Carlee asked.

"The preservation of human life," K.I.T.T. replied instantly.

"Is that function something you can override?" Carlee continued.

"No, it's hardwired into my microprocessor," K.I.T.T. replied.

"So, is it possible Dr. Stalov succeeded with his tests?"

"I..." K.I.T.T. paused, uncertain.

Carlee repeated, "K.I.T.T., is it possible Dr. Stalov succeeded with his tests?"

"No," K.I.T.T. finally responded, more confident than he had been since the "tests."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"The man is mad!" Devon exclaimed angrily, the moment Carlee walked into his office. He had just slammed down the phone.

He moved away from his desk and began to pace rapidly back and forth.

"You're going to wear a hole in your expensive antique oriental rug," Carlee said, trying to somewhat lift Devon's mood. It didn't work.

He swung around to Carlee, "Dr. Stalov has gone back before the board, as if nothing has happened! He's requesting he be allowed access to K.I.T.T. to finish his tests!"

"Why wasn't he arrested?" Carlee demanded to know.

"Oh, he's too smart for that! He sent a messenger. He didn't go himself, and the messenger didn't have a direct way to contact the doctor."

A calculating look crossed Carlee's face.

"Do you have a plan?" Devon asked, recognizing the determination on Carlee's face.

"Set it up, Devon."

"He's going to want to know why we suddenly changed our minds," Devon said.

"You can't stand the sight of him anymore, since he killed me," Carlee supplied. "Use your imagination, just make sure it was bloody and inside K.I.T.T. This is going to depend on K.I.T.T.'s windows being blacked out, so I can hide inside him. Dr. Stalov won't come for K.I.T.T. himself, he'll send someone. K.I.T.T. and I will have to be taken to Dr. Stalov." Carlee detailed the rest of her plan to Devon.

"It just might work!" Devon exclaimed.

* * *

Later that day, Carlee went over the plan with K.I.T.T. Devon had managed to set up the pick up for the next day.

"You'll have to shut down all but your most basic functions. They may scan you for power readings, so we only want them to pick up minimal levels," Carlee informed K.I.T.T. "They have to believe you're deactivated."

"That means we'll be blind, since my scanners will have to be shut down," K.I.T.T.'s voice held an edge of anxiety.

"I'll let you know when we get there, so you can power fully back up. We'll still be able to talk to each other. It'll be okay," Carlee reassured, caressing the steering wheel.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

K.I.T.T. stood out front of the flag mansion. His scanner was dark, and all of his windows were black.

Bonnie stood a few feet away, watching a flat bed tow truck pull up the drive and stop in front of K.I.T.T.

Two huge men jumped down from the truck cab and walked toward Bonnie. Bonnie gestured disgustedly at K.I.T.T., "There! Take it!"

One of the men went to K.I.T.T.'s driver side door, reaching for the handle.

"You don't want to do that!" Bonnie exclaimed, a tear sliding down her cheek. She went on when the man looked askance at her, "So much blood! Everywhere. We... we couldn't stand to see it, so we blacked out the windows, after we deactivated K.I.T.T. You can winch it up on the truck easily enough, though."

Inside K.I.T.T., Carlee could feel the winch begin to pull them onto the tilted bed of the truck. When their forward movement stopped, the bed was tilted back to horizontal.

"Here we go, K.I.T.T." Carlee said, as she leaned back in the seat. Not knowing how long the trip would take, she figured she might as well get some rest. "Wake me when we get there," Carlee said, closing her eyes.

"Leave it to you to sleep at a time like this!" K.I.T.T. grumbled.

"Aw... But it's routine, so it will put you more at ease," Carlee retorted, not bothering to open her eyes.

K.I.T.T.'s snort was the only sound to answer her, and Carlee was soon sleeping relatively easily.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

K.I.T.T. thought he finally understood what people meant when they said that time seemed to drag. His processors told him that time was moving forward at exactly the pace it always had, but his anxiety made it seem to move at a snail's pace.

They finally came to a stop several hours later. Carlee had awakened a few minutes before.

"Show time," Carlee said. She climbed into the passenger seat. Carlee knew Dr. Stalov would open the driver's side door to get to the hood release. Reaching into the glove box, Carlee removed her Glock 9mm.

A few minutes later, K.I.T.T. had been lowered from the bed of the two truck.

"Start bringing your systems back on line, K.I.T.T.," Carlee said, sensing the end was near. "I don't think Dr. Stalov will keep us waiting."

Carlee was right, for just then, the driver's side door opened. Dr. Stalov was reaching for the hood release when his mind registered the lack of blood on the upholstery. The next thing his mind registered was Carlee, very much alive, and pointing a gun at him.

"Let's go for a ride, Dr. Stalov," she said, as she motioned for him to get behind the wheel.

Dr. Stalov stepped into the car. K.I.T.T. slammed the door before Dr. Stalov could touch it. He looked at Carlee, his eyes wide with understanding.

"That's right. He's not deactivated, nor did he kill me. Your 'tests' didn't have the affect you desired!"

K.I.T.T.'s engine roared to life and his lighted instrument panel switched from manual mode to auto mode.

"No! Wait, please!" Dr. Stalov began. He reached forward, pushing the manual mode button several times, with no success. K.I.T.T. would never allow this man to have control over him again.

"Sit back and hold on, Dr. Stalov!" K.I.T.T. exclaimed in tightly controlled anger. "You're in for the ride of your life!"

The flat bed tow truck was blocking the garage's exit. "K.I.T.T., give turbo boost everything you've got and set a trajectory that will take us over that truck."

"Gladly!" K.I.T.T. replied, setting a trajectory that would take out part of the garage's wall and roof, and would sail them over the truck.

"Kindly press the turbo boost button," Carlee snarled at Dr. Stalov, motioning with her gun.

The doctor moaned, but did as he was told.

They were both pressed back in their seats as K.I.T.T. catapulted through the wall and cleanly over the tow truck.

Carlee let out a whoop of exultation, while Dr. Stalov let out a scream of terror.

"Great job, K.I.T.T.! Next stop, the nearest police department!" Carlee exclaimed.

K.I.T.T. plotted a course to the nearest police station, shifted into drive, and floored the accelerator.

Dr. Stalov gripped the arm wrest, white knuckled, the whole two hundred mile per hour trip.

When they pulled into the department parking lot, two beat cops were just getting in their cruiser. K.I.T.T. stopped in front of them, which made them get back out of the car and head their way.

The driver's side sun roof popped open, and K.I.T.T. neatly ejected Dr. Stalov onto the hood of the police car.

Carlee put her gun on the floor board, and got slowly out of K.I.T.T.

"I'm Carlee Knight. I work for the Foundation for Law and Government. That man is Gill Stalov and he is wanted for kidnaping and aggravated assault."

The two officers gaped at Carlee for a minute, then cuffed Dr. Stalov and her.

Carlee wasn't worried, she knew she would be released as soon as her story was verified. Dr. Stalov, on the other hand, wouldn't see the light of day for a very long time.

* * *

Several hours later, Carlee had been allowed to leave. She had crawled wearily into K.I.T.T., and they had headed for home.

The day had ended hours ago and the stars punctured the curtain of cold blackness that hung over the dessert.

K.I.T.T. had taken over control when Carlee fell asleep. The sleek car rocketed through the dessert, the whine of the turbine engine breaking the solitude. The stars reflected dully off the shiny black T-top.

Silence returned to the dessert, as the black car disappeared in the distance.


End file.
